Lawyer Draws Reprimand From Judge

Judge Reprimands Lawyer On Snub Of Pretrial Hearings

Norman Whitney, a Bloomfield lawyer who turned his aversion to pretrial hearings into a crusade, has been reprimanded for his conduct but will not lose his law license, a judge has ruled.

Superior Court Judge John P. Maloney ruled that Whitney violated two rules of professional conduct by refusing a judge's orders to appear at pretrial conferences on behalf of a client. But Maloney said evidence presented during a two-day hearing this month did not prove that Whitney had failed to act diligently in representing the client.

Maloney, who could have disbarred or suspended Whitney, chose instead to reprimand the lawyer and order him to pay $200 in fines imposed two years ago when Whitney first snubbed the orders to appear in court.

Although the ruling spares Whitney's career, it did nothing to advance his belief that mandatory pretrial conferences infringe on defendants' constitutional rights. Whitney maintains that the inconvenience of repeated pretrials forces some defendants to plead guilty without a trial.

Maloney ruled that Whitney's claim is without merit and wrote that the relatively light penalty was due in part to Whitney's apologies and promises to obey the rules in the future.

But on Wednesday, Whitney seemed to care only that his right to practice law was intact.

"You just made my day. I'd like to buy you a drink," he said on learning that his license had survived the hearing. "I thought they might try to disbar me."

The Statewide Grievance Committee, which investigates accusations of misconduct by lawyers, brought the charges, which were based on a complaint by Superior Court Judge Raymond Norko. Norko said Whitney ignored six orders to appear at pretrial conferences in 1990 and failed to tell his client about a deal offered by the prosecutor.

The pretrial conferences were scheduled by Norko to discuss the case of Francisco Ramos, a Hartford man charged with arson and

other crimes. After initial court appearances, Whitney said he wanted the case set down for trial, saying in a letter to Norko that further pretrial hearings would be "absolutely senseless, time-consuming and unfairly expense-producing."

The hearings were rescheduled, and Whitney's letters became more urgent and more confrontational. "I now again absolutely insist on my client receiving constitutional treatment," Whitney wrote Norko. "I DO NOT INTEND TO BE IN COURT FOR A SHAM PERFORMANCE."

Maloney said Whitney's response to the judge's orders constituted misconduct. But he said there was no evidence he had represented Ramos inadequately.

Whitney said his campaign against mandatory pretrial hearings will continue